


In the Garden of My Heart

by HazelnutofFortune



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Birthday, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Gardens & Gardening, M/M, i like plants okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:40:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24751753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelnutofFortune/pseuds/HazelnutofFortune
Summary: When Spring comes, Maru is a little surprised to see her wife hasn’t stopped bustling in and out of the greenhouse. She notices more online orders placed for saplings and seeds, and she wonders what her wife can’t get at Pierre’s. The other crops flourish, of course, under the green thumb of an attentive farmer. But Maru waits patiently to be shown what’s in the greenhouse.
Relationships: Maru/Female Player (Stardew Valley), Maru/Player (Stardew Valley), Sam/Sebastian (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 48





	In the Garden of My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> I heard there weren't enough Maru/Farmer fics, so I delivered.

Maru watches from the porch as Robin adds the finishing touches to the greenhouse, a building she has long seen sitting in disrepair. Her wife, ever the industrious farmer, is not a carpenter despite numerous attempts (all failed), and the two of them are happy to pay Robin.

Maru has always enjoyed watching her mother work; it’s familiar, a comfort she can remember even from very early childhood. She’d been curious, even then, and when Robin was able to get jobs in Pelican town, Maru and her father would sit in the shade and watch the work. The instinct carries over to this day - after all, Maru has never stopped being curious.

When it’s done, Maru congratulates her mother and immerses herself in a project once again. This one is going to take some work, she thinks.

~

Maru knows her wife uses the new greenhouse; she sees her bustling in and out all Winter, and she is pleased that she’s found a new place to invest her horticultural energy. That is, after all, why she and Maru work so well together; they both have independent technical loves. Maru shows off her inventions, can prattle on for hours about how, exactly MARilda’s AI was developed- and, parallel, her love likes to take her on tours of the farm. There’s always some exciting new plant, and Maru loves to watch the lively flush on her face, the way she waves her hands around when she’s not thinking self-consciously.

When Spring comes, Maru is a little surprised to see her wife hasn’t stopped bustling in and out of the greenhouse. She notices more online orders placed for saplings and seeds, and she wonders what her wife can’t get at Pierre’s. The other crops flourish, of course, under the green thumb of an attentive farmer. But Maru waits patiently to be shown what’s in the greenhouse.

~

By the first of summer, Maru has finished her special project, but she keeps it to herself until the 22nd dawns, sunny but unseasonably cool.

Maru, feeling pleased and airy with the spirit of conspiracy, turns off her wife’s alarm. She prepares the breakfast food she’d gotten from Gus in lieu of any actual cooking skill, and, just to be careful, she checks on the beautiful pink cake hidden in the back of the icebox.

By the time Maru gently shakes her wife awake, it’s 2 hours since her alarm should have gone off.

“What- Maru?” She says. “What time is it? Did I sleep through my alarm?”

“Happy Birthday. I turned it off,” Maru says. “Don’t worry, I forced Shane to do the farmwork for today.”

“All of it?”

Maru rolls her eyes. “Yes, all of it. He’s a big boy, you know.”

But she’s still frowning. “Even the greenhouse?”

Oh. Duh.

“No, not the greenhouse. I know that’s your personal project.”

“Thank you, darling.” And she leans up for a kiss.

“Thank me again when you’ve brushed your teeth,” Maru jokes, but leans back down for another.

Altogether, the morning goes very well.

That afternoon, the two of them go in town for a modest celebration in the community center. Sam and Sebastian have driven in from ZuZu city for the week, and Maru runs to hug her brother as soon as she’s set down the beautiful pink cake.

“Sebastian!” She says, and nearly bowls him off his feet.

Their relationship has improved in leaps and bounds since Sebastian moved out.

“Don’t go paying me too much attention,” Sebastian says. “The birthday girl hasn’t even had her cake yet.”

Maru rolls her eyes, and hugs Sam too.

They part, smiling, and chitchat a little about the community college in the city Sam is taking some classes at. Maru remarks admiringly about his dedication when Sam tells her he’s been getting As and Bs, and Sam flushes, pleased.

“Sebastian helps, a lot. He’s smarter than I am when it comes to stuff like that.”

Maru doesn’t believe for a second that Sam couldn’t have done it on his own, too, but she’s glad they have each other.

“You know,” she says. “I’m really glad to see him so happy. I was worried the city wouldn’t be all it’s cracked up to be.”

“It’s...yeah,” Sam says, looking a little tearful. “I really- I really love him.”

Maru looks around a little surreptitiously, and leans in. “If you love him so much, why don’t you marry him?”

Sam gasps. “You think he’s ready for that?”

"Well, I-”

“Now what sorts of scandalous things are you two whispering about??” Abigail interrupts, wrapping a casual arm around Sam’s shoulders and slapping Maru on the back. “You should be ashamed of yourselves for not including me.”

The conversation only devolves from there.

~

Later, when they’re both tired and full, Maru gives the gift she’s been saving.

“Oh, Maru,” Maru's lovely wife says, cradling the tiny stardrop earrings like something precious. “These are wonderful.”

“So now you know my project,” Maru says. “Care to show me yours?”

~

It’s a cool, clear evening, but the greenhouse is warm and humid. Faint moonlight filters through the clear roof, and for a moment she and her beloved stand in the dark, looking up, up, up. If Maru squints, she can just make out the stars.

After a moment, Maru’s wife clears her throat.

“So, do you want to see the plants, or-”

“Yes, I want to see the plants, you doofus.”

With the flip of a tiny switch, the room is illuminated. Tiny fairy lights wrap around, between, and above the plants. It feels like another world.

“Tell me about them,” Maru says, holding the gardener’s hand in her own.

“You want to hear?”

“Of course I want to hear,” Maru says. “I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I know the greenhouse repair is a community center upgrade, but i really wanted to start this fic with family and end it with a different kind of family.


End file.
